Muscular problems more specifically targeted by the present invention are epicondylitis and epitrochleitis. These are two types of tendonitis which are expressed by pain in the elbow and are often due to too large straining of the forearm muscles. These problems may notably appear as a result of repetitive, poorly performed or particularly hard movements of the hand and/or of the wrist, whether this be while working (carpenters, masons, pneumatic drill operators, etc.) or while practicing sports (tennis, golf, etc.) or during leisure (for example gardening).
Epicondylitis occurs when the tendon of the extensor muscles is strained too much; the pain is then especially located in the external part of the forearm, in the region of the epicondyl, which is a small bone protrusion of the external face of the humerus.
Epitrochleitis, which is much less frequent, occurs when the tendon of the flexor muscles attached to the epitrochlea (a small bone protrusion of the internal face of the humerus) is overused; the pain is then located in the internal region of the forearm, in the region of the epitrochlea.
Both of these disorders cause pain which may last for a few weeks, or even be further prolonged, and if they are poorly treated, they may degenerate into chronic pain and cause irreversible lesions.
If it is preferable at the beginning of the attack, to rest the elbow, by avoiding gestures which have caused the lesion, on the other hand, prolonged immobilization should be banned since this risks causing serious stiffness of the joint, which is sometimes irreversible. Next, in the re-adaptation phase, when the movements are gradually resumed, wearing a device for gripping the forearm may be advised, which allows limitation of the straining experienced by the tendon by locally compressing the muscle. Such a gripping device may also be used preventively, so as to be continually worn during the risky activity.
Such gripping means which typically comprise a stiff but elastically deformable body having substantially the shape of a U, having a bottom and first and second limbs, on the one hand, and two supporting members each substantially mounted on the body to a free utmost portion of a limb of the latter on the other hand are already known.
The user places the body of the device around his/her forearm in the suitable region, and then tightens it by means of a strap. The supporting members will then locally compress the forearm, thereby limiting the amplitude of the movement of the tendon.
These known devices however have a certain number of drawbacks.
First of all, obtaining satisfactory tightening at the supporting members is generally accompanied by too significant tightening at the other contact areas between the body and the forearm. The result is a tourniquet effect, which may lead to failure of vascularization, which of course is not desirable.
Moreover, the known devices are often difficult to set into place, because the body may rotate around the forearm during the tightening with the strap, and may finally be in a bad position. Further, it should be noted that epicondylitis and epitrochleitis generally occur on the elbow of the right arm for a right-handed person, and of the left arm for a left-handed person, so that the setting into place of the body is achieved with the left hand for a right-handed person and with the right hand for a left-handed person. This further complicates the placement of the device by a user alone.
Further, the supporting members of certain known devices have an effective supporting area with reduced dimensions. This may be detrimental to the effectiveness of the device which does not provide satisfactory compression of the forearm in the suitable area, but this may also lead to intensification of the tourniquet effect.
Moreover, devices for supporting the wrist are known. Thus, document US 2006/118679 proposes a device which includes a flat body embedded in a flexible sheath provided with a cavity positioned under the carpal tunnel. The standard shape of the body, as a C, induces the drawbacks described above relating to the tourniquet effect. As for document U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,150, it describes a device which includes an upper portion and a lower portion placed above and below the wrist respectively, these portions being clasped by a strap so as to be brought closer to each other. This application is relatively difficult.